Financial Times – Investors hedge against sharp stock market correction Money flows increase last month into ETFs tied to Vix and bond funds excel this year Preparation for the risk of upset comes as market activity slows for the summer and in advance of possible central bank action in September, when policymakers may announce plans to… Continue reading Long Volatility Bets Creeping Higher
The Wall Street Journal – Oil Prices Flash a Buy Signal For most of 2017, the price of oil delivered in the future has been higher than the spot price. That is a sign that there is more than enough oil sloshing around the market to meet current demand. And since that price relationship makes… Continue reading Don’t Forget About The Cost Of Rolling Futures
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Economy Glides Back to Steady, Modest Growth Path The U.S. entered the ninth year of economic expansion in steady but unspectacular fashion that shows little sign of abating. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., expanded at a 2.6% annual rate in… Continue reading Market Capitalization As A Percentage Of GDP
The Wall Street Journal – A Stock Market Paradox: Investors Love Earnings, Punish Companies Reporting Them Investors are bidding up U.S. stocks as companies post bumper profits, yet funds are often selling on the day these firms publish their results. That may say a lot about investors’ increased caution over U.S. equity valuations, which remain high by… Continue reading Traders Not Rewarding Stocks On Earnings Release Day
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Here’s How U.S. Companies Have Been Earning Money: By Spending More How much money can companies make? In the U.S., it’s been up to how much money they’ve been willing to spend. U.S. business investment increased at a solid pace for a second straight quarter, data released Friday showed. Private nonresidential… Continue reading You Gotta Spend Money To Make Money
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – The Trickiest Time of the Year for Stocks We’re getting into the dog days of summer, but that’s typically when the stock market cools off. August has historically been a weak month for equities. The S&P 500 has averaged a 1.4% decline in August over the past two decades, according to… Continue reading Stock Market Seasonality
Bloomberg – Mohamed El-Erian: OPEC’s Game-Theory Dilemma To win the price-setting game, oil producers need to address two related issues: They must maintain prices at a relatively high level without losing more market share to nontraditional producers, and they need to retain unity amid geopolitical tensions and disparities in domestic economic and financial situations. The… Continue reading Going Over OPEC’s Options At This Point In The Game
Bloomberg – Volcker Rewrite Is Set to Start as Trump Regulators Grab Reins Agencies decide at private FSOC meeting to begin revising rule Trump administration targets limits on Wall Street’s investing Wall Street regulators have agreed to rewrite the Volcker Rule, according to three people familiar with the matter, moving to loosen industry-despised restrictions that… Continue reading The Trump Trade Is Still Working Despite Political Chaos
The Financial Times – Dollar eyes worst first 7-month start in 31 years The dollar is on track for its worst seven-month start to the year in over three decades as a more hawkish European Central Bank and growing legislative dysfunction in Washington dim the buck’s appeal as a haven currency. The DXY index, a… Continue reading Total Return Review – The Dollar’s Rough Start To 2017
VentureBeat – Amazon could make Whole Foods a place to play with Alexa gadgets Amazon clearly has big plans for Whole Foods once its $13.7 billion purchase of the organic-grocery chain is official. While much of the discussion around the merger has centered on Amazon initiatives like Prime Fresh, Amazon Go, and a possible meal-kit… Continue reading Amazon Stumbles, Can Brick and Mortar Retail Rebound?
Bloomberg – Struggling Stock Pickers Eye Quants as MiFID Sparks Rethink Pressure is mounting on active stock pickers as a decade-long shift in investment towards lower-cost and better-performing passive products continued through 2016, according to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID II, is coming into… Continue reading A.I. and Machine Learning Disrupting Buy and Sell Side